Archive for the 'Weezer' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

When Weezer last performed at Costa Mesa's Pacific Amphitheatre two years ago, the group added sprinklings of pizazz to its typical set list. Mixed in with expected hits were two cool covers, Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" and Radiohead's "Paranoid Android," plus relatively uncommon runs through "Photograph" and "Pink Triangle."

That's one way to approach an OC Fair gig: appease the gung-ho peeps who know everything with a couple deep cuts while remaining appealing to those who just stopped in to enjoy whatever was playing that day. That's easily achieved given their extensive catalog: nine full-length albums, yielding at least a dozen radio tunes most everybody knows.

The other route is to go even safer and perform only widely recognized material to ensure the majority can sing along to every word. That's the approach Weezer embraced for its return to Pacific Friday night: nothing out of the norm.

I'm not necessarily complaining. For an outfit that's been at it for just over 20 years, the norm is never less than superbly pro and undeniably entertaining.

Ten years after reawakening, there are more constants about Pacific Amphitheatre than ever.

The most obvious remains the most annoying: Despite occasional forays beyond the boundaries of the OC Fair's five-week schedule – this time there's a bonus four-day festival in late August – the Costa Mesa venue is still woefully underused.

Why that is centers on cranky locals and reams of bureaucratic red tape. With any luck, the state-owned spot will have sorted out how to step up its season by the time its doomed older sister once called Irvine Meadows likely expires in 2017.

Indeed, with Gibson Amphitheatre closing in September, Pacific could pick up a great deal of concert-going slack by next summer, if the city that hosts it gets on board. Instead, this fair-driven Brigadoon resurfaces only in the heart of summer, and with a roster that's almost completely predictable yet dappled with gems.

Three more dates on Pacific Amphitheatre's five-week summer schedule have been filled, all by acts who have made successful showings at the Costa Mesa venue in recent years.

Weezer, the Rivers Cuomo-led band that last appeared there in 2011, will return on July 26. Might there be a new album by then, the group's first since Hurley and Death to False Metal three years ago? Possibly, seeing as just after Christmas they announced plans to re-enter the studio. Tickets: $29.50-$79.50.

ZZ Top, that (mostly) bearded Texan trio, issued La Futura last September, garnering praise for their first disc of fresh material in almost a decade. The Hall of Famers return to Pacific on Aug. 1, almost three years to the day since their last performance there. Tickets: $38.25-$68.25.

December 11th, 2011, 10:30 am by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

While sitting among the bustling crowd Saturday at the first sold-out night of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas at Gibson Amphitheatre, it became clear that this audience was definitely out to have a good time and enjoy (even scream along to) the artists that made up this heavier half of the 22nd annual weekend bash, all of whom could have played this same shindig a decade ago. Minus, of course, the newcomers of Young the Giant, who were still in elementary school back then.

But the others – Blink-182, 311, Social Distortion, Bush, Chevelle, New Found Glory – were either gaining momentum or well-established acts at the start of the millennium, and on this night their fans were looking for that nostalgic concert high. Even Sublime with Rome – who stepped at the 11th hour when Incubus had to drop off the bill after guitarist Mike Einziger fell ill – were well-received.

Yet, though these groups remain (mostly) intact and plenty of people here were ready to rock, the night still wasn't entirely flawless. The sound held up nicely throughout each set, but Blink-182's turn was rendered almost unlistenable by some strange tweaking from the soundboard. After three songs my ears needed a break, so I opted to watch some of their performance via stage-side monitors. If I'm going to officially go deaf, it's not going to be because of these guys.

Luckily for them, by the time they came on enough alcohol had been consumed that most fans were swept up in the moment, dancing and singing along to “Josie,” “Dammit,” “What's My Age Again?,” “Feeling This” and “All the Small Things.” The foul-mouthed trio, whose obvious asset is powerhouse drummer Travis Barker, even threw in seasonal stuff: “Happy Holidays, You Bastard” and “I Won't Be Home for Christmas.”

I laughed to myself when the band dedicated “The Rock Show” to its “older fans.” That particular track was released in 2001; I vividly recall picking up Dude Ranch the summer of my freshman year of high school in '97, so I must be an ancient fan.

September 12th, 2011, 2:22 pm by DAVID HALL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Despite an uplifting atmosphere provided by beautiful weather and ample swaths of grass to splay out on during the second round of relaxing rock and reggae at Doheny Days in Dana Point, it was impossible to completely dismiss Sunday's somber significance: the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Yet, as the afternoon progressed with dance-inducing, sun-soaked sets from local jam maestro Micah Brown, L.A.-based soul/samba outfit Orgone and Jamaican roots-reggae mainstay Black Uhuru - and with no harrowing news about terrorist attempts - one sensed a rapidly spreading elation wash over the fest.

The feeling blew in gently on the day's constant breeze, cooling the event's several thousand patrons into a contentedness that exploded at intervals into unfettered energy.

Fans first gave into jubilation during a popped-out dance party with Neon Trees. The Utah-born, California-based outfit's glam/pop/punk tunes have a tendency, as they did this day, to blur together less than remarkably, but their monster hit “Animal” sparked a surge of dancing that rivaled the most raucous raves. The day was topped by a gleeful finale from one of Southern California's most unrelenting rock kings, Weezer, but not before two of the day's most galvanizing groove sessions, from Cake and Ziggy Marley.

“Festival-goers are much more experimental in 2011 than in 2004, the last year that we held Doheny Days," explained Rich Sherman, president of Lake Forest-based Omega Events, which stages both this event and the annual Doheny Blues Festival.

"So it was very important to present an exciting mix of acts, ones that would fit the vibe of the festival. Very few festivals are as fortunate as we are -- our backdrop is the Pacific Ocean, so acts like Ben Harper and Donavon Frankenreiter were a natural fit.”

The mix of acts from a variety of genres will perform amid a setting that includes a Ferris wheel, midway games, four stages and an overall experience that Sherman insists will be different from what Omega puts together for Doheny Blues every May. That makes sense considering the appeal of this lineup skews younger.

This weekend's edition of Outside Lands, essentially Northern California's Coachella equivalent, was once again expanded into three days after last year's Saturday/Sunday-only event. That gave the tens of thousands of revelers on hand in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park even more time to enjoy the densely wooded grounds, carefully curated food (from lauded local eateries like the award-winning Flour and Water) ... and, of course, tons of music, ranging from jam-band grooviness to alt-rock superheroes.

Among the highlights:

On Friday, Foster the People attracted hordes of people to a side stage for a midday slot, though this time "Pumped Up Kicks" wasn't the biggest singalong. Instead, it was an unexpected cover of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So," an acknowledgment, it seems, of that band playing Foster's current hit a week earlier at Pacific Amphitheatre. (Fun fact: Rivers Cuomo personally taught Mark Foster how to play the song five years ago.)

Arcade Fire's Win Butler acknowledged during his band's victory-lap, fest-ending performance Sunday evening that earlier in the day he'd fulfilled a lifelong fantasy: singing the Band's classic "The Weight" with soul/gospel legend Mavis Staples, pictured above. (For those keeping track: he played acoustic guitar and tackled vocals on Rick Danko's second-to-last verse, about Crazy Chester and his dog).

The Black Keys' main-stage set on Saturday solidified them as a superstar band, far from their roots as sludgy Ohioans playing grungy rock at Spaceland and the Troubadour. Clearly the kids in the audience knew not just omnipresent fare like "Tighten Up" but also deeper cuts like 2005's "Girl is On My Mind." At this point, the Keys are strong and popular enough to carry a day as headliner.

“With the addition of Weezer and Ziggy Marley, we have compiled a diverse lineup of artists for Doheny Days, and the response has been incredible," reports Rich Sherman, president of Omega Events, the concert promoter that stages both this event (back after seven years away) and the annual Doheny Blues Festeival.

August 8th, 2011, 11:30 am by PETER LARSEN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

You have to imagine that fromMGMT's perspective, the group's show at the U.S. Open of Surfing on Saturday looked pretty great: throngs of minimally clad fans packing the sand from the stage to the surf, the sun starting its downward slide to the horizon. All of that must have a made for a lovely tableau.

But if you weren't lucky enough to have a spot in the stands - say you were crushed into that crowd or pushed out to its furthest, wettest edges - well, the fan experience might have been kind of a drag.

That's perhaps the dilemma created by the increasing popularity of the U.S. Open's annual concert series, which wrapped up Saturday after headlining sets by Jimmy Eat World on Friday and the Sounds on Thursday: The better the bands, the bigger the crowds, but given that it's free, and there's no limit on the amount of booze and pot and cigarettes being consumed, at many times it's not the greatest crowd in which to (try to) watch the show.

Which is a shame when it comes to a terrific band like MGMT, whose psych-pop sounds are perfect for chilling out at the beach. In their late afternoon set they played most of the songs fans know best, among them "Time to Pretend," "The Youth," "Electric Feel" and "Weekend Wars," all from their acclaimed debut, Oracular Spectacular. They also tossed in a few cuts off their second album, such as "Song for Dan Treacy."

Of course, for the end of the show they saved their biggest hit, "Kids," a song covered at the U.S. Open of Surfing a year ago by Weezer. This time it got a proper performance (nothing against Weezer, of course) to the delight of the crowd, most of which finally snapped to attention at the instantly recognizable opening synth chords.

August 6th, 2011, 2:00 pm by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Devo is known for engaging in bizarre antics. But the events happening outside City National Grove of Anaheim before doors even opened for Friday's show nearly surpassed the veteran new wave band's own oddness scale.

Fans who lined up early had to endure three religious zealots, holding large signs that read “Repent!” and “Hell Awaits You.” A woman loudly proselytized and yelled inane things like “If you sing ‘Whip It,' God will whip you,” while her male cohort chimed in with “Devo doesn't care about your soul, they just want your money.”

When she ranted about Noah's Ark, a concert-goer challenged her, then led everyone in the familiar chant “Are we not men? We are Devo!” One acolyte briefly played along on kazoo; others had already placed brightly colored energy domes (aka flowerpot hats) on their heads.

Many people en route to the Angels game against the Mariners passed by and laughed in disbelief. One guy said, “I could see this maybe for Megadeth, but Devo?”

Agreed. Makes about as much sense as the religious organization that often tries to recruit people near the baseball stadium's main gate. Devo isn't exactly a new act on the scene -- the brothers Mothersbaugh and Casale crawled out of Ohio in the early '70s - and the group doesn't really write offensive lyrics. Even the 1980 smash “Whip It,” despite an iconic S&M-parodying music video, is about positive thinking and overcoming adversity. There are far worse acts making profane pop, rap and R&B music today.